This document provides an overview of a lecture on regional geography and its paradigms. It discusses the rise of new regional geography since the 1980s which views regions as social constructs produced through power relations and practices. Current strands of regional geography pay attention to regionalities in social and everyday life and examine regions as complex institutions operating across scales. The document concludes that regional geography remains important for theorizing regions and regional knowledge and occurs most effectively when examining power relations in region-building processes.

1. Lecture 1 - Introduction: economic geography and its recent paradigms
Regional
Geography
of Southern
Europe
WS 2021-2022
Lecture 2
10-11-2021

2. Structure of
the course
1) Introduction to regional geography and the focal study region
2) Regional geography of Southern Europe: differences and uniqueness
3) The territorial governance of Southern Europe
4) Planning and Planning systems of Southern Europe
5) The economic geography of Southern Europe
6) EU, EU integration and funding mechanisms for development
7) Southern Europe, low-income EU regions and EU Cohesion Policy
8) Research and development in Southern Europe: where and what for
9) The social dimension of cross-border relations across SE
10) Southern Europe and sustainability transition efforts
11) Conclusion: Regional futures across Southern Europe
Lectures

3. OLAT Group

4. The Rise of “New Regional Geography” and
Current strands of reasoning
New regional geography that has emerged since the 1980s
Here, the region is cast as both an
absolute space and an abstract field of
experience where things and processes
exist.
For new regional geographers, both the
questions and answers regarding the
existence and manifestation of regions
are inevitably based on social practice.

5. The Rise of “New Regional Geography” and
Current strands of reasoning
New regional geography
Hence new regional geographers have been interested in the power
relations, practices, and discourses through which people,
communities, and social classes produce and reproduce “regions”
and localities in their daily life through various institutional settings.
Politics,
governance,
economy,
education, media,
or communication

6. The Rise of “New Regional Geography” and
Current strands of reasoning
A typical feature has been that geographers do not prefer any
specific spatial scale: the understanding of regions requires
recognizing and analyzing the processes that take place in,
between, and across different spatial scales.
New regional geography

7. This is useful for understanding both the complexities of
contemporary spatiality and the inherent relations of power.
The problematization of all assumptions concerning society,
human beings, social change, and territorial transformation.
The Rise of “New Regional Geography” and
Current strands of reasoning
New regional geography

8. New regional geographers have demonstrated that
there is no reason to distinguish between historical and
other geographies:
• Regions and their construction are constantly
ongoing, never-completed processes (evolutionary)
The Rise of “New Regional Geography” and
Current strands of reasoning
New regional geography

9. The Rise of “New Regional Geography” and
Current strands of reasoning
New regional geography Challenges for policy and research
Find methodological approaches for studying broader social
and spatial transformations taking place in a world
characterized by the increasing dynamics of the globalizing
capitalism

10. Current strands of reasoning

11. Current strands of
reasoning
• Regional geography now pay
attention not only to how
regions and region-building
processes are materially
embedded and constituted, as
well as to the “stretching” of
regions across supposed
regional borders, but they also
closely examine the
regionalities and
regionalizations of social and
everyday life.

12. Current
strands of
reasoning
• Some geographers are interested in the
sense of belonging, structures of feeling,
loyalties, or the mobilization of memory in
regional contexts. Regions and regionality
thus start to appear as constructed in the
dialectics of materiality, individual and
social imagination, and the formation of
subjectivities.

13. Current strands of
reasoning
• The region as a setting for social
interaction and suggests that this setting
plays a fundamental role in the
production and reproduction of social
relations.
• As a result, space (as well as time),
embracing its symbolic and ideological
dimensions as well as its material basis
(nature, economy), is understood as a
social and cultural construct.

14. Current
strands of
reasoning
Space and spatial patterns are not
independent of social, cultural, and
natural or ecological processes. Space is
not seen as a causal power that would as
such determine social processes. Rather
social (and cultural) and spatial are
understood as constituents and
outcomes of each other.
(Paasi, Harrison & Jones, 2018)

15. Regions, as a set of cultural and
emotional relations between a
specific human group and a
particular place; it is a people bound
category, conceived less with regard
to individuals but rather more with
communities
(Paasi, Harrison & Jones, 2018)

16. Conclusions: regional geography
✓ Regional geography has been an important subarea of academic
geography, both as a concrete research field and as an object of
theorization;
✓ New regional geography brought both regional geography and the
region back on to theoretical debates since the 1980s;
✓ New regional geographers have theorized both the ideas of the
region and the role of regional knowledge in the frameworks
inspired by social and cultural theory, taking seriously historically
contingent societal conditions (context-specific; place-based);
✓ It occurs most effectively when scholars become interested in the
power relations associated with region-building processes,
regional identity narratives, or processes of regional development.
(Paasi, Harrison & Jones, 2018)

17. • Regions are today understood as complex
institutional structures, since they are
dependent on both human agreement and
the operation and decisions made in the
context of such social institutions as political
organizations, governance, economy, media,
or education systems;
• These institutions operate across scales,
which contests traditional concepts of
regions as isolated, bounded units;
Conclusions: regions
(Paasi, Harrison & Jones, 2018)

18. Conclusions: regions
(Paasi, Harrison & Jones, 2018)
• Region-building involves tensions;
• Once created, they are also social facts in
the sense that they can generate and are
generated by action if people believe in
their existence and they have a legitimate
role in the spaces of “publicity” (e.g., in
the media) or in governance.
• This action may be simultaneously
reproductive, resistant, or
transformative.

19. Recap and starting
point for RG of
Southern Europe
• A deepening of global
economic integration
alongside accelerated
processes of
urbanization is having a
major impact on the
construction and
configuration of regions
and regional space

20. Regional geography > urbanized regional geography
Megaregions (Florida et al. 2008)

21. Regional
geography of
megaregions
It’s not nation states or even cities, but
mega-regions—combinations of multiple
metro areas—that are the real forces
powering the global economy (Richard
Florida, 2019).
Source

22. Bos-Wash, which extends from
Boston through New York and
Philadelphia down to Washington,
D.C., is the world’s largest mega-region
of nearly 50 million people (about twice
the population of Texas), generating
almost $4 trillion (about $12,000 per
person in the US) in economic output.
If this mega-region were its own country,
the economy would be equivalent to
the world’s seventh largest, bigger
than the United Kingdom’s or Brazil’s.
World’s largest
mega-region
Boston – Washington D.C.
Source

23. Par-Am-Mun: Coming in second, this
European mega-region spans Paris,
Amsterdam, Brussels, and Munich.
Home to 44 million people (about
twice the population of New York), it
generates $2.5 trillion (about $7,700 per
person in the US) in economic output,
about as much as Mexico does and
more than Italy, equivalent to the
world’s sixth largest economy.
World’s second largest
mega-region
Paris, Amsterdam,
Brussels, and Munich
Source

24. A critical regional geography is simultaneously also political geography

26. Regional geography of
Southern Europe:
differences and uniqueness

27. Regional geography of Southern Europe:
differences and uniqueness
Common, 1982
• Differences:
• In terms knowledge production about their geography
• ‘French are producing comprehensive regional atlases
while the Spanish, have devoted much of their efforts to
the publication of a variety of national atlases.’
• ‘The Greeks and Italians, for their part, have been much
less systematic in their concern with atlases, either about
restricted areas or upon themes.’

28. Regional geography of Southern Europe:
differences and uniqueness
• Uniqueness:
• ‘Questions on the nature of society and the origins of people
in Southern Europe arise frequently and prompt me to
specify several useful sources of information’ Common, 1982

29. Regional geography of Southern Europe:
differences and uniqueness
• Uniqueness:
• ‘One seeks to identify the fixed assets and values of the physical
environment while piecing together an understanding of the
community of interests that are reflected in the land use,
settlement and population distribution of an area.’
• ‘Questions concerning evolution and change in the physical
environment as well as curiosity about the lifestyles of most
residents and their involvement in socio-economic affairs all
emerge from these initial considerations.’
• ‘City regions were also the concern of Mori and Cori (1969) in their
analysis of Italian conditions, while trade and commerce areas in
relation to a national, urban hierarchy were again the starting point
for the Trade Atlas of Spain.’

30. Regional geography of Southern Europe:
differences and uniqueness

31. Regional geography of Southern Europe:
differences and uniqueness
Definitions of Southern Europe, also known as
Mediterranean Europe, include:
• Albania,
• Andorra,
• Bosnia and Herzegovina,
• Bulgaria,
• Croatia,
• Cyprus,
• Gibraltar,
• Greece,
• Italy
• Spain,
• Turkey,
• Slovenia
Southern Europe is the southern subregion of Europe
• Kosovo,
• Malta,
• Moldova,
• Monaco,
• Montenegro,
• North Macedonia,
• Portugal,
• Romania,
• San Marino,
• Serbia,
• Southern France,
• Vatican City World Atlas

32. These are the
Iberian
Peninsula,
the
Italian Peninsula,
and the
Balkan Peninsula.

33. Regions of Europe based on The World Factbook
Differences and uniqueness

34. European subregions according to EuroVoc
Differences and uniqueness

35. Subregions of Europe by the UN geoscheme:
Differences and uniqueness

36. Differences and uniqueness

37. Regional geography of Southern Europe:
differences and uniqueness

38. European
Economic
Area

39. Southern
Europe
sceptical of
EU's economic
policy
(December
2016)

40. Large part of the regional growth
bonus generated by Cohesion Policy is
concentrated in Germany.
Conversely, impacts on regional
employment are confined to the United
Kingdom.
The picture for beneficiary regions in
Southern European Member States is
less healthy with positive impacts on
employment in Italy until the Great
Recession 2017 and on economic
growth in the recovery period in Spain.
Do regions in all Member States (MSs) of the
European Union (EU) benefit from Cohesion Policy?

41. Do regions in all Member States (MSs) of the
European Union (EU) benefit from Cohesion Policy?
• In Italy, Cohesion Policy
produced a short-term positive
impact in the beneficiary
regions that materialized only in
terms of regional employment.
• However, this positive impact
vanished after the crisis.
• The evidence on the Italian
case seems to support the idea
of Cohesion Policy working to
maintain employment in low-
productivity jobs in the
Mezzogiorno, a model that the
Great Recession 2017 has
made unsustainable.

42. Do regions in all
Member States
(MSs) of the
European
Union (EU)
benefit from
Cohesion
Policy?
Spanish beneficiary regions absorbed almost
30 percent of expenditure in the 2000-2006
period (European Commission, 1999).
Nevertheless, at least until the Great
Recession- and in contrast to the EU a whole -
they have not benefitted from EU Cohesion
Policy
The Great Recession (2007-2008) has
presented major challenges in
particular in the disadvantaged
areas of the Union (European
Commission, 2014), deserving
special attention in the analysis of
the policy impacts.

43. Do regions in all Member States (MSs) of the European
Union (EU) benefit from Cohesion Policy?
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/evaluations/data-for-research/
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/analysis/sercdp0230_rdd_eu.pdf
The data refer to the expenditure of the Objective 1 regions during
the 2000-2006 period.

44. Norddeutsches Doktorandenkolloquium Wirtschaftsgeographie
25. bis 26. Februar 2
021
Low-growth regions
Experienced a persistent lack
of growth. They are less-
developed or transition regions
(regions with a GDP per head up
to 90% of the EU average) that
did not converge to the EU
average between 2000 - 2013.
Source; EU Commission, 2017
≈ 83 million inhabitants
Low-income regions
Remain far below the EU
average GDP per capita. They
cover all regions with a GDP per
head below 50% of the EU
average in 2013.

45. Norddeutsches Doktorandenkolloquium Wirtschaftsgeographie
25. bis 26. Februar 2
021
NUTS3 Typology
based on
prevalence of
type of
settlements (2013)
Spatial focus:
Select. SMSTs
Loris Servillo, Rob
Atkinson, Ian
Smith et al 2013
5,000 and 50,000 inhabitants

46. Source
greater-than

47. Source

48. Source

49. Norddeutsches Doktorandenkolloquium Wirtschaftsgeographie
25. bis 26. Februar 2
021
Lagging regions, SMSTs and local communities
within > still matter to secure cohesive regional
development patterns (McCann & Ortega-Argilés, 2019).
*Several non anglophone sources concur with this argument
Source of economic and social dynamism
for many prosperous urban regions
(Kemeny and Storper, 2020; Rodríguez-Pose, 2018)*
(Torres de Araujo 2020 Rodrigues Carvalho 2018 Pinilla & Sáez 2017)

50. Norddeutsches Doktorandenkolloquium Wirtschaftsgeographie
25. bis 26. Februar 2
021
Persistent poverty, economic decay and lack of
opportunities, are the corner stone of
dissatisfaction in declining and lagging regions.
(Rodríguez-Pose, 2018)
Rising of populism and
political radicalization
Growing sense of
regional inequalities
(Lee et al, 2018; Broz et al. 2019)
(Bole et al. 2020; Servillo et al. 2017)
Additional research on how
transformation processes play out
in the organization of the economic
landscape of SMSTs is needed

51. Norddeutsches Doktorandenkolloquium Wirtschaftsgeographie
25. bis 26. Februar 2
021
Rodríguez-Pose & Ketterer, 2020 call for development
strategies and territorial policies capable of successfully
addressing short-term problems as well as of putting
lagging regions on a sustainable development track in
the medium to long term;
Bevilacqua et al. 2020 call for flexible approach in
allocating investment > a more strategic, tailored, place-
sensitive approach to regional development policies.
aimed at improving infrastructure, research & development
and innovation with a greater focus on governance and
institutions.

52. Norddeutsches Doktorandenkolloquium Wirtschaftsgeographie
25. bis 26. Februar 2
021
Balland, Rigby & Boschma, 2015 underline that multilevel
governance approach – that includes a significant
‘bottom-up’ element supported by multi-sectoral territorial
partnerships – to the analysis of territorial contexts
allows sustaining regional economic agents to adapt
and reconfigure their productive sectors (industrial,
technical, service oriented).
Iammarino et al. 2017 reinforce that comprehensive and
well-crafted, place-sensitive policies are needed not
only to address some of the basic problems of lagging
regions in Europe but also to set the bases for a more
sustainable growth and response to shocks.

53. Norddeutsches Doktorandenkolloquium Wirtschaftsgeographie
25. bis 26. Februar 2
021
If we understand better the different socio-economic
development paths/trajectories within local
communities and how they value their distinctive
tangible and intangible amenities, then we will be
better prepared to tailored-to-the-context policies.
(Van Assche et al. 2020; Oliveira, 2016)
If we understand better how local communities in
prosperous regions respond to global forces, we can
craft evidence-based policies supporting socio-
economic transformation of lagging regions.
(Servillo, Atkinson & Russo, 2011)

57. Employment in southern Europe:
better, but fragile | 2019

59. Productivity growth across
the OECD, 1995-2015

60. Growth in the real IT capital
stock, 1995-2014

61. Number of worldwide internet users in 2021, by region(in
millions) (July 2021)
© Statista 2021
Southern Europe

62. Source

63. Labour costs

64. Source

65. Average life expectancy in Europe for those born in 2020, by
gender and region (July 2020)
© Statista 2021
Southern Europe

67. Source

69. Statistical evolution

71. Source
The Human
Development
Index (HDI) is a
summary
measure of
average
achievement in
key dimensions of
human
development: a
long and healthy
life, being
knowledgeable
and have a
decent standard
of living.
less-than

72. Source

73. Source

74. Source

75. Source
greater-than

76. Source

77. Source

78. Source

79. Source

80. Source

81. Batista e Silva et al. 2021

82. Lecture 1 - Introduction: economic geography and its recent paradigms